I give the book 3.5 stars. I wàs really excited to read this book. I did not read There There but I heard about the hype. I knew that Tommy Orange had won a Pulitzer prize for it. I really like fiction and reading about struggles and diverse characters.

It took me a long time to read this book. I thought I was going through a reading slump. I started and finished some other books after I started this book. It was hard for me to get into the book.

I found the book difficult to read. The chapters were various sizes. A lot of the sentences were run on sentences. It was strange to me that such a well known author didn't write well.

The book had a lot of characters. I felt attached to some. It seemed that the story would revolve around one character and then another. The characters didn't always mesh with the other ones.

I liked the themes of the book. Sometimes the book just didn't flow well for me. It would be in the past and then the present. It would be a story. Then it was more a commentary on society.

I have heard so much about this author. I want to see what others have seen and written about. I actually want to read the authors first book. I would read future books from the author. Maybe

There There was a book that got me back into reading, so you can imagine how excited I was to read Orange’s sophomore novel, Wandering Stars. As I expected, the writing was wonderful, crackling with life and humor and sorrow, distinct in voice and style.

The first third, the more historical fiction aspect to this novel, was a full 5 stars from me. I loved how the characters connected (and chronologically! Thank you!) and how distinct their voices felt while keeping a familial thread throughout. The themes here of historical trauma and resilience, of surviving and passing down stories, were so clear and well crafted. It is very impressive that this is both a prequel and a sequel at once, but I mostly think it should have just been the former. While I did enjoy coming back to these characters, adding a sequel to what felt like a wholly complete novel is perhaps too much of a good thing, a wonderful story to return to but also treading a lot of the same ground we have already covered. It didn’t feel fresh, I was unfairly comparing it to the 1st novel, and I found the wrap up at the end (“where are they now??”) to be a bit neat.

On the whole, there is so much to love here and I leave this knowing Tommy Orange is an instant-buy author, hoping more people will find and love his work. The first part worked much more for me, but I can’t say no to a compelling character-driven novel!

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the eARC!

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Southern Cheyenne of Oklahoma) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first personal read of 2024, and the bar is now set pretty high for the rest of the year. I do think it was helpful to have already read There, There, but I’m not sure it’s necessary.

The first half fed the historical fiction-loving part of me–I absolutely inhaled it. Being born and raised on a rural, northern rez, going to college in the Bay Area was my first introduction to the complexity of urban Native communities. The first question Natives living there asked was where I am from and who are my people. It’s good to know, but in this story it does more than just satisfy a fleeting curiosity. For me, it provides a depth, understanding, and fullness to the rest of the story.

The second half was what I needed after reading There, There all those years ago. It wasn’t a closure, but maybe a balm for the heart ache.

This one publishes later this month, Feb. 27, but is available for pre-order now.

Enjoy this one, let it heal you a little.

Tokšá aké, book friends 📚☕️

Pidámaya Tommy Orange for sharing this gift of a story, and Knopf and NetGalley for an eArc.

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange is a poignant exploration of the enduring trauma faced by Native American families, spanning from the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 to the present day. The novel's lyrical prose and impactful historical segments, especially those centered on Cheyenne warrior Star, create a captivating narrative. However, the extensive array of characters introduced in the latter half dilutes individual connections. The novel serves as a testament to the resilience of the Bear Shield-Red Feather family and delves into the dark history of the United States, emphasizing the ongoing impact of genocide on Native American communities. While challenging, the book is crucial for understanding history, highlighting the legacy of colonialism, and addressing the struggle for cultural identity. Tommy Orange's skillful storytelling navigates multi-generational complexities, making Wandering Stars an essential contribution to the understanding of Native American history and a poignant reminder of the enduring impact of brutality on communities.

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange is a beautifully written book covering an important topic. Told in an historical fiction style, Orange plays out the heart-wrenching tales of three points in indigenous people’s history. I was both sad and enraged at the atrocities and touched by the strength of characters. This isn’t an easy to read book and I tend to prefer a more linear and plot-driven novel, but it is an important and much neglected topic.

Another wonderfully-written, tough-to-read book from Tommy Orange. "Wandering Stars" is a companion novel to "There There", and I do recommend reading that first, but it's not a requirement. This book spans from the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado to the aftermath of the shooting in "There There", and once again gives an eye-opening look at the modern Indigenous experience and the effect through the generations of having your culture forcibly stripped away. This is a story of family, belonging, and identity, and it's an important read. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a digital review copy.

Thank you to Alfred A Knopf publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I recently read Tommy Oranges other book in preparation for this book. I dont think that you would have to read the previous book there was a little connection but it focused on generations of families. There was also mention of covid not much but I think the reader should be aware. This book was sad and focused on native Americans.

Both a sequel and a prequel to his excellent book There There, Wandering Stars is yet another outstanding Tommy Orange book. It's about family, inheritance, addiction, how we decide to move through the world, how some are forced through the world, and all sorts of great big themes, but you're never beat over the head with over-cooked descriptions of character and place. Basically, I'll be interested in reading anything he wants to write.

Tommy Orange's prose will always get me. He can get away with throwing in an essay at the start of a novel or mixing fact and fiction to let me know what he really thinks.

Not as propulsive as the firecracker that was There There, but still as gorgeous and heartbreaking. The first third takes us through the family history of the Star-Red Feather surviving massacres, abuse, erasure, and addictions. The rest brings us to the aftermath of the pow wow in There There. Generational trauma, loss, poverty, mass shootings, these will continually grind you down. What does it mean to survive? Can we go beyond simply surviving and thrive?
Every character goes through it in this novel, but thankfully this isn't just a bleak book about adversity and addiction. There is hope, resiliency, and love. Every character is allowed to break down, wander, and come back - though not necessarily to exactly what they left or want.

While I loved this book, I found the first part stronger than the second. There were moments where the contemporary section meandered a bit too much and I'm not sure what happened with some of the subplots. This is a much slower read than There There, but a gorgeous way to bookend that novel.

Tommy Orange brilliantly writes to reach the souls of people. He puts you in the stories with the characters to feel everything they feel.
He sets Wandering Stars up with a historical narrative looking into the ancestral timeline of the Red Feather family—Victor Bear Shield and Charles Star experience massacres and Christianizing. While natives are persecuted and their history taken away, it affects future generations. Fast forward to the modern day, the Red Feathers have seen their share of trauma and family strife. Tommy Orange wants us to see the effects of addiction throughout the years and how one family deals with their pain. Orvil, one of the main characters in Orange's previous book, was shot at a powwow in the Oakland Coliseum. His recovery included pain pills, which he started to enjoy and became addicted to. At the same time, Orvil experiences his post-recovery, and his brothers and great-aunts are navigating their trauma and pain.
Orange touches on every aspect of life's questions about who we are, where we came from, and what we would have been if the bad things hadn't happened to us.
Experience this novel as an uncovering of acceptance and the idea that we are more than what has happened to us. We can start again; we can begin a new story.

There, There left a lot of questions in the aftermath of the shooting. I had high hopes Wandering Stars would pick up right where Tommy Orange left off. Instead, he took a historical look at the history of trauma in tribal communities. Seeing the aftermath of the shooting through Orvil and the three brother’s view was an interesting approach that left the reader confused as to whose story is being told.

A sort of sequel to There There that starts with the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and continues through the traumatic aftermath of Orvil Red Feather's shooting. The last half is a close and excruciating look at addiction.

This is a really complicated book to review, honestly. It's a novel, that sometimes reads like a nonfiction - and, unfortunately, is likely based on a lot of real experiences. It has an almost mythical quality at times; Orange seamlessly blends real events with potentially imagined or dreamed or symbolic events in a way that emphasizes that, real or not, they are all equally important parts of the lived experience. This book is, above all, a complex look at collective and intergenerational trauma.

All this said, the stream of consciousness writing style wore me down at times. I haven't read There, There, but was really excited about this release based on the description. Based on similar struggles with a few other texts, I'm assuming it's a cultural approach to storytelling that is just different from what I'm accustomed to. I had to take a break about half way through, which is a rarity. Still, I'm glad I stuck it out and I think this is an important and valuable read. I also found myself highlighting passages constantly while reading; some beautiful, some that just punch you right in the gut.

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the ARC. Wandering Stars publishes February 27th.

This book absolutely broke me, but this is an important, beautifully written book that is not to be missed. One caveat for me personally is that it had been awhile since I had read 'There, There,' and I wish I had re-read the previous book before diving into this one. Still, it is evident that this book was written from the heart and rendered with the upmost care.

Wandering Stars by Tonny Orange is a prequel and sequel to his award winning first novel, There There. The prequel portion is more meaningful if you’ve read his first book. This book provides a family tree of the Bear Shield-Red Feather family which I found very helpful while reading this multi-generational saga. It has less characters than his first book which made it easier to follow. This is not to say that it is an easy read because dealing with intergenerational trauma and the far-reaching effects of what we, as a country did, to First Nation peoples is heartbreaking. The novel deals with the forces of addiction, loss of identity, poverty and family bonds through a variety of narrators. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars for me.

Thank you for an advanced electronic copy of this book. I really enjoyed There, There and was excited to see book 2 coming out.

Like There, There - Wandering Stars explores themes of what it means to be native in America. WS starts back during the Sand Creek Massacre and follows a few generations in Colorado and then skips forward to the aftermath of There, There.

A lot of the themes and hardships of the characters are hard to read because they are real and dark. Very beautifully written, each character in the second half of the book has depth and you are rooting for them to overcome generational trauma and succeed, what ever that may look like.

I was slightly disappointed in the chapters with the characters from previous generations of the family. It felt like a glossing over of what happened to them rather than learning who they are at their core. Something I know Orange is good at writing. I rarely say a book could have been longer, but I would have liked to spend some more time with the characters of the past.

Over all, I enjoyed this follow up and felt a sense of closure at the end of the book. The second half of the book was really great, although the time jumps seemed like the could have flowed a little bit smoother. I am excited to see what Tommy Orange does next.

The author describes the brutality faced by Native Americans as "white" Americans tried to take away the culture and traditions of the Native Americans. A difficult read, but a necessary one.

3.5 stars-Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing in February 2024!

I enjoyed Orange's debut novel There There-this ends up turning into pretty much a direct sequel as it follows the story of Orvil and his family who we are introduced to in the first book. Reading There There isn't required, but I'd advise it just because the background experiences of the characters in that book do contribute to what happens here. The writing is beautiful and Orange does an amazing job of giving each point-of-view character a distinctive voice. I liked the overall impact of the first portion of the book telling the historical stories of past generations of the family, but I think it became a more cohesive read in the second part when it narrowed down to Orvil's generation. This one didn't hit me quite as strongly as There There did, but the writing is still great-if you liked the first book, there's no reason not to read the second one.

This latest work from Tommy Orange is a poignant reflection on the plight of Native Indians in America. This novel felt very reminiscent of 'Homegoing', in that we follow multiple generations of the Star family. While it is a very difficult read, it is a must read. Excellent storytelling.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I very much enjoyed Tommy Orange’s 2018 novel, There There, so I was eager to read an ARC copy of his forthcoming novel, Wandering Stars, to be published in late February 2024.

While Wandering Stars is a follow-up (actually, I’d call it more a “deep-dive” into one of the families featured in There There), you don’t need to have read the first book recently - or at all - to enjoy and appreciate this newer one.

For me, Wandering Stars packed a bigger emotional punch than There There (which is saying a lot). I found that I needed to take brief breaks in my reading now and then, just to settle myself before I could continue on. It is an intense read, with a heartbreakingly raw - and very, very Real - storyline. As in There There, the language in Wandering Stars is beautiful – honest and fresh, and a pleasure to read. Orange employs shifting points of view/narrative voices brilliantly, which deepens the understanding of the individual characters while still tying them together as a whole.

Wandering Stars is packed with the brutal truth of addiction, generational trauma, and cultural identity. It’s lovely, honest, heartbreaking . . . and, in the end, also full of hope.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 27, 2024.

5 stars.